Folder and fastener



May 25, 1937. I H. u. DOEBLER 0 FOLDER AND FASTENER Filed May 31, 1955 Herman Zlfloeblez;

Patented May 25, 1937 UNITED STATES FOLDER AND FASTENER Herman U. Doebler, North Tonawanda, N. Y., as-

signor to Remington Rand 1110., Buffalo, N. Y.

Application May 31,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to filing folders, file backing members and the like, and paper fasteners for folders, etc.

The present invention provides a fastener for.

the fastener becoming detached from the bacln'ng by tearing out portions of the paper through having a base for the fastener formed of sheet metal located on the back of the backing member or folder and supporting the prong member on the inside or opposite side of the backing member or sheet; by eliminating the objectionable feature of having the folder rendered useless resulting from the prongs breaking off through providing detachable prong members on the base plate so that a new prong can be placed on the base plate in case of breakage; and securing a construction that is efficient in operation to hold papers on the folder or other supporting member in which the prong member is detachable from the base plate but in assembled relation has portions that interfit and interlock to retain the prong member in substantially rigid attachment on the base plate for convenient insertion through papers to be filed on the prong member which may be bent in a suitable manner to retain the papers thereon and attached to the file backing, or folder.

The invention further comprehends the provision of a paper fastener construction wherein there is provided a sheet metal base plate constructed in a manner to facilitate its manufacture cheaply in both the formation of the base plate and its attachment to the folder, as well as providing a structure that will facilitate the ready assembly of the prong member with the base plate in interlocked relation.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 shows a fragment of a folder in perspective with the fastener of this invention applied thereto, the removable prong member being shown in full lines in flat position against the inner face of the folder and in dot and dash lines bent so that the ends extend in adjacent parallel relation in position to receive papers to be filed and attached to the folder.

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross section taken on line 22 of Fig. l, the prong member, being shown with the ends extending laterally to the base plate and folder.

Fig. 3 shows the base plate in perspective from 1935, Serial No. 24,181

the under side with the attaching prongs extending laterally ready for insertion through a backing sheet or folder so that it may be attached thereto.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a fragment of a backing sheet or folder having a plate member attached to the back side thereof, constructed in accordance with the invention but in a slightly different manner from the structure disclosed in Figs. 1 to 3.

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 showing a binder prong in attached position.

Fig. 6 shows the base plate illustrated in Fig. l in perspective, to illustrate the details of' construction.

Fig. '7 shows the prong member for attachment to the plate shown in Figs. 4 and 6 in perspective with the prongs in the position in which they are formed to provide for the convenient attachment of the prong member to the base plate.

A portion of a suitable backing member or sheet is indicated at l in the form of a folder such as the ordinary correspondence filing folder. For the purpose of this invention, this folder or backing sheet I is provided at the position where the fastener is to be mounted with an opening 2. In Fig. 1 the opening is shown in the central portion of the upper end of one cover of the folder, but it is to be understood that the fastener may be used in any of the many positions that are customary for their use in receiving and attaching papers to a folder or backing member.

A plate member or base plate 3 is formed of sheet metal of square or rectangular construction and as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 it is provided near the corners on a pair of opposite sides with attaching prongs l. In the formation of base plate 3 from sheet metal, the prongs 4 are integral with the edges thereof and are pointed at the ends as shown in the drawing so that they may be readily inserted through the paper of a backing sheet or folder.

These attaching prongs are-formed to extend laterally from plate 3 in substantially parallel relation so that they may readily extend through the paper in applying the base plate to a folder. The central portion of plate 3 is formed with a strap section 5 that is offset to one side of plate 3 in the same direction as prongs 4. This strap section 5 is formed by slitting the sheet metal base plate 3 along a pair of spaced parallel lines indicated at 6. The strap section is offset to the side of base plate 3 a sufficient amount to provide a straight passage under strap section 5 indicated by numeral 1 in Fig. 3, and located at the same side of plate 3 to slidably receive a prong member as hereafter described. It will be observed that plate 3 is applied to the outside or outer face of the folder or to the back of the backing sheet as the case may be with the strap section 5 extending through opening 2, while attaching prongs 4 are projected through the paper forming the folder or backing.

After these prongs are extended through the paper, or other material, they are then bent over plate section 3 and toward each other as clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 and are pressed tightly on the front or inside face of the paper in order to hold plate 3 with one face against the backing. In this assembled position strap section 5 extends through opening 2 a distance sufficient to provide for the ready insertion of a straight, fiat bendable prong strip 8 through opening 1 under the strap section in a manner that can be clearly understood from Fig. 1.. Prong strip 8 has its end inserted through the opening I and freely extends across the inside face of folder Q.

When the central portion of prong strip 8 is positioned under strap 5 the ends may then be bent toward each other and as a result they will fold around strap section 5 into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l and in full lines in Fig. 2. In this position the end sections forming the prongs of prong strip 8 indicated at 9 extend laterally from plate 3 and folder I while a central section II is engaged under strap section 5 while bend sections II extend around the edges of strap section 5 and engage over portions or plate 3 adjacent to slits 6. In this way bend portions II seat on plate 3 as well as engage around strap section 5 and effectively interlock prong strip 8 with the base plate. In the structure shown in Figs. 4 to 7 the backing member or sheet is illustrated at I2 and mounts 'a base IS on one face thereof. This backing I2 has an opening I4. The base plate I3 is provided adjacent the corners on a pair of opposite edges with attaching prongs I5 while the central portion is formed with a pair of spaced slots It provided by removing spaced parallel sections of the metal forming the base plate and leaving a central strap section I! between slots I6. This strap section I! is offset to one side of plate I3 so as to provide a passage on the same side of the plate and parallel to the face thereof under strap section H.

Plate I3 is formed from a single piece of sheet metal and attaching prongs I5 after being cut out are extended laterally to plate I3, to the same side of the plate as strap section Il The finds of the attaching prongs are pointed so they may be easily inserted through backing I2. After the prongs I5 are inserted through backing I2 they are bent down upon the opposite face from that engaged bythe face of plate I3 so as to rigidly position plate I3 against one face of the backing or support sheet I2 with strap section I? projecting through opening I4.

The'prong member I8 is formed of a strip of metal similar to prong strip 8 and has the strip formed into the shape shown in Fig. '7 to provide a central section I9 having laterally extending bend portions 20 at opposite ends from which and sections or prongs 2| extend in angular diverging relation. The prong member constructed in this manner is then placed in back of plate I3 as shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 5 and indicated at 22 and thereupon the ends of end sections 2| are brought together and inserted through slots I6. Upon being inserted through these slots the tendency of end sections 2| to spring apart due to their natural resiliency will aid in camming the prong members through the slots It by engagement with the adjacent edges of plate I3 so that it will become assembled with plate I3 in order that section I9 will engage strap section I1. 7

When the prong member is pulled through slots I 6 and opening I l so that section I E) engages strap section II and end sections 2| pro ject to the opposite side of backing I2 from that on which plate I3 is engaged, the prong members are then forcibly bent together so as to assume the position shown in full lines in Fig. 5. In this position of the parts of the prong member bend sections 29 will be bent to extend toward each other over strap section I? as clearly illustrated in Fig. 5. As a result bend sections 20 will cooperate with strap section I! at the opposite edges and effectively secure the prong strip I8 to the base plate with section I9 engaging strap section Ill so that it will not readily become displaced.

By the cooperation above described between he prong and the strap sections and base plate in the structure shown in Figs. 1 to 7 the prong members are so attached to the base plate that the pointed ends when brought together may be readily inserted through a piece of paper or several papers that are to be applied to the prong member for filing in the folder or the backing to which the fastener is attached. In this operation of inserting papers on the prongs the connecticn between the prong member and plate will prevent the central section of the prong member from becoming disengaged from the strap section on the plate and suitable resistance will be offered through the cooperation of the bend sections and adjacent parts of the plate member to hold the prong member in its attached position against movement relative to the plate member. This is an important feature of construction since it has been found difiicult to attach a separate prong member to a base plate in such a way that it will interlock with the plate.

As the plates 3 and I3 of similar construction Y are mounted in use on one side of the backing sheet or folder, usually the back or outside face, and provided with attaching prongs that engage over a considerable area of the paper forming the backing with the strap section projected through an opening in thebacking spaced from the securing prongs, it will be seen that a firm attachment forthe binder prong strip isprovided that is not likely to tear out of the folder or backing. The strap section projects through the opening to provide for the easy and convenient insertion of the binder prong strip from the inside of the folder, and when in position for use the prong member will extend away from the opposite face of the backing I2 from that to filing disadvantages caused from excessive build- The use of separate prong members also facilitates the continued use of the folder even though the prong member in use should break because a new prong member may be readily inserted as "will be clearly understood from the above description. As a result the use of the separate prong member not only provides for the replacement of broken prong members that can not be obtained where the prong member is formed as part of the base, as the case with some fasteners, but also provides for the use of prong members of different lengths so as to accommodate any desired amount of papers in the file.

With the construction of the present invention, it is found desirable to produce prong members of several different lengths so that the shorter prong members may be used in files where there is little correspondence to be filed and the longer prong members can be used according to the increase in capacity of the files in which they are used. It is obvious that when the papers build up in one file to an extent greater than the length of the prongs so that a short length of prong can not be satisfactorily used, the short prong may be taken out and replaced by a prong having longer end sections adapted for the size of the file in which it is placed.

The invention claimed is:

In combination, a folder having a portion formed with an aperture, a sheet metal plate on the outer face of said folder covering said aperture, securing tongues on the margin of said plate extending through said folder and securely mounting said plate on said folder, a strap section ofiset from the central portion of said plate projecting in said aperture, the marginal portions of said folder about said aperture being spaced from said strap section, and a prong member formed of a bendable sheet metal strip having an intermediate section engaged under said strap section, bend sections engaging said strap section at the side edges and also engaging portions of said plate adjacent said strap section, said strap section being offset from said plate only a sufiicient amount to accommodate said prong member, the ends of said prong member normally extending laterally from said plate to receive papers for filing thereon, said intermediate and bend sections of said prong member lying in said aperture, and said strap with adjacent portions of said plate gripping said intermediate and bend sections for effectively retaining said prong member against dislodgment therefrom.

HERMAN U. DOEBLER. 

